


A True Prince

by CassieBeckett



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Fear, Hallucinations, Kidnapping, Other, Villains, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25509652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieBeckett/pseuds/CassieBeckett
Summary: Roman finally speaks up against Remus's manipulation.It doesn't end well.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39
Collections: Sanders Sides





	1. Chapter 1

"Bye!"

Roman hastily sunk out- he hated talking about his brother, even more so with Thomas. 

He could always feel Remus inside his head. He seemed omnipresent, always ready to latch on to any of Roman's fear or doubt.

So Roman attempted to be as positive as possible, all the time. But when you've just been unconscious for half an hour, that proves to be slightly difficult. The dull pain in Roman's head was still there as he trudged to his room.

He paused, hand hovering on the doorknob, before steeling himself determinedly.

Roman threw open the door- he could just ignore his brother, like he did every other day. This didn't change anything.

Right?

"Roman," Remus cooed. "Aren't you going to greet me, dear brother?"

Roman gritted his teeth as he ventured to his dresser.

Remus continued.

"There's a rather attractive lump on your head, you know."

Roman ignored him, picking up his hairbrush.

"Roman." There was a dangerous edge to his voice now.

In a flash, Roman whipped round to face his brother. Remus was somewhat surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes.

"I despise you," Roman spat. "I hate what you've done to me, to Thomas- to everyone." Roman paused, trying desperately not to cry. "We'd all be better off without you."

Tears coursed down Roman's face, but he ignored them as he glared at Remus with unfiltered rage.

Something inhuman gleamed in Remus's dark eyes.

"The feeling is mutual, dear brother," Remus murmured.

But Roman didn't seem to notice; he had already turned back around, wiping his face fiercely.

And then a mace connected with Roman's head, harder than it ever had before. He felt himself fall out of his chair as Remus's maniacal laughter rung in his ears.

————————————————————————

"I think Princey's finally decided to join us!"

Remus's jovial singing voice echoed as Roman groaned. He tried to stand up, his legs shaking.

He couldn't.

His eyes opened blearily to find that he was tied to a chair, hands roughly twisted behind his back.

"Roman, you look simply fantastic," a familiar voice lied.

Deceit. Roman struggled to find his voice.

"Let. Me. Go," he choked out.

"Oh, but darling brother- where's the fun in that?"

Roman's vision was beginning to clear, and he stared at his brother, anger shining darkly in his bloodshot eyes.

He realised with a sickening jolt that they were in Deceit's room.

"What do you want with me?! What are you going to gain from this?!" Roman tried to make his voice seem strong and brave- but what came out was merely a whisper.

"Oh, absolutely nothing, Princey," Deceit sneered. "Of course, you're so clever, you can easily figure it out for yourself."

"Think about it, darling," Remus murmured. "I do believe Thomas has a rather high opinion of you. If I were to replace you..."

"No!" Roman cried. "You can't- Thomas needs me!"

"Oh, we weren't aware of that," Deceit said.

"That's what makes this so much more lovely, don't you think?" Remus said, smiling with sharp teeth. "The others rely on you, don't they, dear? It would be a shame if something awful were to happen to you..."

Remus and Deceit shared a meaningful look before continuing.

"So we simply thought it would be a good idea to keep you in here for a while," Remus said cheerfully. "And in the meantime, I can replace you and do what Creativity should do."

"And you know what's so amazing about my room?" Deceit added joyfully. "By the time they find you, you'll find it awfully hard to be truthful..."

Roman remembered the effect Virgil's room had had on him, and shuddered to think what this room would do to him.

"You can't do this!" Roman protested angrily, fighting against the ropes. "They'll find me eventually! They'll never fall for it!"

Deceit chuckled, and leaned down to look Roman in the eye.

"Well then," Deceit whispered. "Maybe we should make sure you stay quiet..."

And then Deceit's eyes started to glow, and Roman felt himself relaxing under his stare. He shook himself out of it.

"No," Roman mumbled. "Stop- Don't..."

He tried to move his head away, but Deceit's hand held his head in place.

"Look at me," he commanded, his yellow eyes glowing brighter.

Roman tried to pull away, but found that his body felt like lead. His eyes felt heavy, and started to drift shut. He felt his mind grow blank as his entire body slumped over in his chair.

And then everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus's twisted past with Virgil becomes clear.
> 
> Logan has something to say about that.

"Roman?" Patton called after just setting the table. All the sides were at the table; except Roman.

'Roman' rose up unsteadily from the floor, a grin plastered on his face.

"What's up, Patton?" He said merrily, his voice sounding slightly whiny.

Logan was instantly suspicious. Roman almost never greeted Patton by his actual name- he always used some sort of ridiculous nickname. Something was off.

Virgil and Patton seemed not to notice Roman's immediate odd behaviour, and greeted Roman as they always did.

Logan tuned out their chatter, now focused intently on... 'Roman'. Something wasn't right. But nothing could've happened to him, surely. Despite yesterday's events, Roman was indeed stronger than Remus- it was just an unfortunate slip-up.

But if it could happen once, it could happen again.

There was only one way to test this theory.

From under the table, Logan conjured a stick of deodorant.

"Roman," Logan said casually, disrupting his constant stream of chatter.

Roman looked up, temporarily distracted. And not giving Roman a chance to think, Logan tossed the deodorant at him.

Roman caught it neatly; and took a massive bite out of it. Acting upon Remus's first instinct.

Logan needn't have told Patton and Virgil his reasoning; they both instantly seemed to understand.

Virgil jumped up. Sure, he had overcome his fear of Remus, but him showing up unexpectedly- disguised as Roman- was not ideal.

Patton, rather uncharacteristically, glared at Remus.

"What have you done with Roman?" he asked, eyes dark with barely contained anger.

Roman's clothes were instantly replaced with Remus's, and a white steak appeared in his hair. Remus carelessly threw his snack aside, looking at Patton with unhidden hatred.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Remus said sarcastically.

"He would. That's why he asked," Logan said, arms folded.

"You have no right to be here," Virgil muttered darkly.

"That's rich, coming from you," Remus spat, his teasing tone replaced with pure malice. "It's all out in the open now, isn't it, Virgil? Thomas knows his darling anxiety for what it really is."

"Stop!" Virgil yelled suddenly, causing Patton to jump. "I've changed- Thomas will see that."

"You've grown so much, haven't you?" Remus said, feigning joy. "How proud I am..." Remus's joyful tone turned into a threatening hiss. "I remember when I used to get under your skin. Such fun times, weren't they? You really saw how amazing the world was when you were with me. It could be like that again."

Virgil doubled over as Remus's eyes grew black; causing Virgil to hallucinate. He saw Patton drenched in blood, crying profusely. He saw Logan muttering incoherently in the corner, rocking backwards and forwards. So many scarring images crossed his mind- he felt sick. Corpses covered the floor; strangers, but also Joan, Talyn, Patton, Logan- Roman.

Virgil was deaf to the urgent voices around him- the torrent of images didn't cease, and Virgil felt tears start to course down his face as he sobbed. He fell to his knees, blind to the real world around him.

"Stop!" Patton yelled.

He saw Virgil curled up on the floor, shoulders shaking from the sobs that racked his body. And there was nothing he could do.

"He can't take much more," Logan said urgently, unable to tear his gaze away from Anxiety twitching on the ground. He could scarcely imagine what Remus was making Virgil see to have this much of an effect.

Virgil's sobs filled the air, barely drowned out by Logan and Patton's begging.

And then- Virgil went silent.

"V-Virgil? Kiddo?" Patton asked, his heart racing.

And in a flash, Remus was on the ground, and Logan's fist was bleeding from the impact of the punch.

"What the fuck have you done?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unsure of where Roman is, they make the (perhaps illogical) decision to attempt to rescue him.
> 
> What could possibly go wrong?

"Virgil? Can you hear me?!"

Patton was by Virgil's side, silent tears escaping his eyes. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't-

Logan gently touched Patton's shoulder, and knelt down next to him. He slowly leaned down, and put his hand to Virgil's neck.

A pulse was there. Undeniably weak- but there, and that was all that mattered.

"He'll be okay, Patton," Logan assured him. "He just fainted. He'll be fine- I promise."

Patton wiped his face, knocking his glasses askew. Hope crossed his face as he glanced back to Virgil.

"Are you sure?" He asked weakly.

"Positive." Logan said.

Remus was in the living room, out cold. They'd moved him to the couch- admittedly, Logan felt terrible for punching him, as much as he deserved it. Despite everything, he was Roman's brother. So as a small act of remorse, Logan had at least teleported Remus to the couch- his cheek was growing steadily more swollen by the minute.

Patton and Logan stayed by Virgil's side for what seemed like an eternity. But after a mere five minutes, Virgil began to stir.

"Kiddo?" Patton said hopefully.

Virgil opened his eyes blearily, not remembering how he had ended up on the floor.

"W-why are you crying?" Virgil slurred, looking at Patton's tearstained face.

"You scared me, kiddo," Patton breathed. Virgil was tackled into a tight hug; Virgil didn't pull away.

"I-I'm fine," Virgil said, unsure of whether that was the truth.

"You're not," Logan growled. "He could've killed you!"

"W-who could- could've..?" Virgil began to ask before trailing off. He saw the unconscious figure on the couch, and the terrible memories returned. Remus.

Virgil shook off his dizziness as he remembered. Roman.

"Where is he?! Where's Roman?" he asked, realising by Logan and Patton's faces that neither of them knew the answer.

"Virgil, calm down," Logan said. "Remus would never harm his own brother, obvi-"

Virgil cut him off.

"Look at what he did to me! Would you really put it past him?!"

Logan began to retort, but caught himself. Virgil was right. Remus didn't exactly have a moral compass.

"We need to find him," Virgil said, grabbing Logan's wrist in desperation.

Logan only nodded, slightly fazed by Virgil's sudden alertness. He tried to think, biting his lip.

Patton spoke up.

"He- he might be in the dark side mind palace..." he offered feebly.

Virgil started at even the mention of the place. He'd promised himself he'd never have to go back there. He couldn't.

Patton noticed Virgil's reaction, and held his hand consolingly.

"You don't have to come," he said gently. "I know what it means to you."

But Virgil shook his head determinedly, shaking off another wave of dizziness as he awkwardly stood up.

"I'm coming," he said simply.

Patton nodded. "If you're comfortable."

And just like that, they ventured to the dark side of the mind.

Together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally find Roman- and Deceit isn't exactly thrilled about that.

"Roman?"

Virgil's calls echoed in the unsettling silence. He had to be okay. 

Patton and Logan weren't far behind, also shouting Roman's name down the hall. The dark side of the mind looked exactly like Thomas's apartment, just like the light side did.

But the dark side was different, somehow. The air seemed thick, and the walls were covered in mould and grime- and in some instances, mysterious red stains that Logan and Patton hoped wasn't what they thought it must be. Virgil knew it was only fake blood because Deceit said it 'added character'. The windows were boarded up, and the lightbulbs hardly worked, their dim glow flickering.

Virgil stopped at where Remus's door usually was to find a blank wall. He started, and slowly turned around to the others.

"It's- it's normally here," he said, gesturing uncertainly.

The three stood there for a moment, Logan biting his lip, trying to think.

"It must be because Remus is unconscious," Logan suddenly blurted out, breaking the silence.

"But Roman must be in Remus's room! How are we meant to get to him now?" Patton said, sounding like he was on the brink of tears. It didn't surprise Virgil; of course, the dark side couldn't have had a good effect on Morality.

"He must not be in Remus's room," Logan answered. "I don't think rooms can disapparate if someone's inside..."

"Then- that means he's..." Virgil started, before trailing off after he understood what Logan was suggesting. "No. Not his room."

"He's the only other dark side that we know of," Logan reasoned. "I'm sorry, Virgil; you don't have to co-"

"No!" Virgil interrupted. "...No. I'll come."

"If you're sure," Patton said.

They continued down the hall to the acid yellow door, Virgil holding his breath. He tried not to remember all the terrible memories of Deceit. How he'd deliberately make Thomas tell terrible lies just to see Virgil's reaction; how he'd encourage Remus to make Virgil hallucinate. How he'd never let Virgil sleep for days on end.

"Knock it down," Virgil muttered darkly when they reached the door.

Logan huffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

He instead retrieved a bobby pin from his hair, and patiently fiddled with the lock until an audible click was heard. He opened the door for them, trying and failing not to look smug.

The three entered in silence, uncertain at what they'd find.

And absolutely shocked at what they did.

Roman was tied to a chair, seemingly completely unconscious. Virgil's breath hitched; but he calmed down slightly when he saw the gentle rise and fall of Roman's chest. It was only slight; but it was there. He was alive.

But only just. As the sides ventured further into the dark room, they saw that dried blood matted his hair, and he had a serious head wound; not only that, but he was most likely severely malnourished- he hadn't eaten for over two days.

"R-Roman?" Patton asked uncertainly, leaning over him.

He gently touched his forehead, and choked back a sob as his hand came back covered in Roman's blood.

His head wound was still bleeding.

"We have to get him out of here," Logan said.

"How?!" Virgil burst out. "We can't lift him!"

Logan ignored him, and conjured a knife, cutting Roman's ropes and catching him when he fell forward.

And then, seemingly effortlessly, he picked Roman up. He looked back at Patton and Virgil, and looked shocked.

"Logan? Wha-"

"We need to go- sink down!" Logan said urgently, dropping through the floor.

They looked around.

"Deceit!" Patton squeaked.

Before Deceit had a chance to speak, Virgil grabbed Patton's wrist, and dragged him through the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say for myself. 
> 
> I'm sorry. (Not sorry).

Virgil and Patton shot up through the floor, returning to their own light living room. Logan was over at the couch, settling Roman down onto it. Remus was nowhere to be seen.

"Will he be okay?" Virgil asked.

Patton came over with a flannel and bowl of warm water. Logan nodded, looking up at Virgil.

"Virgil," he assured. "None of us can die unless Thomas does. He'll be fine- I promise."

Virgil nodded mutely, eyes still trained on Roman. Despite all that he'd gone through, Roman looked strangely peaceful.

Logan began cleaning his head, trying to wipe off the dried blood from his hair.

Several silent minutes passed- Patton and Virgil were sat on the floor next to Logan, Roman consuming their every thought.

Despite what Logan had said, Virgil still somehow believed that maybe, just maybe-

Roman might never wake up.

He blinked back tears. It was like Remus was still in his head, his dark creativity latching onto his anxiety.

Eventually, Logan spoke up.

"Maybe we should leave Roman, for now-"

He trailed off as Roman slowly opened his eyes, staring at him.

Virgil smiled, quickly trying to wipe his eyes. "You scared us, you idiot!"

Roman spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Wh- who are you?"


End file.
